The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to presenting an Islamic perspective on issues of importance to the American public. CAIR is the largest American Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, serving the interests of over seven million American Muslims. The vision of CAIR is to be a leading advocate for social justice and mutual understanding. CAIR's mission is to enhance a general understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. CAIR would like to acknowledge Mrs. Khadija Athman, Ms. Sanaa Ansari, Mr. Noman Bajwa and CAIR’s Civil Rights Department in the compilation of the 2005 report. We would also like to acknowledge Ms. Taiyyaba Qureshi and Mr. Mohamed Sabur for their research during their 2004 summer internship at CAIR. Questions about this report can be directed to: Arsalan T. Iftikhar National Legal Director Council on American-Islamic Relations 453 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington DC 20003 Tel: 202/488-8787 Fax: 202/488-0833 Email: [email protected] To obtain copies of this report, please contact [email protected] FAIR USE NOTICE: This report may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is being made available in an effort to advance the understanding of political, human rights, democracy and social justice issues, and so on. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. 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FRONT COVER: Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) available at http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=280 2 Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) 2005 Table of Contents Glossary………………………………………………………………...…………………………4 Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………5 Background and Findings………………………………………………………………….……7 The Dragnets of John Ashcroft………………………………………………………..…8 The Case of U.S. Army Captain James Yee………………….…...…..…………...……15 The Case of Brandon Mayfield……………………….…………...……….…………....22 The ‘No-Fly List’ and the Cases of Tariq Ramadan and Yusuf Islam…………….…29 The Case of Sami Al-Hussayen…………………...….…………………………………36 2004 CAIR Civil Rights Findings………………………....…………………………….41 Sample Cases from 2004 CAIR Civil Rights Database………………...………………52 Conclusion…………………….…………………………………………………………………58 Appendix………………………………………….………….…………………………………..59 3 Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) 2005 Glossary of Islamic Terms Allah The most commonly used linguistic term for ‘God’ in Arabic. Allah is the same monotheistic God worshipped by Christians and Jews. Beards Many devout Muslim men grow beards to follow the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad. Eid Islamic holiday which occurs twice a year. Eid al-Fitr is the holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan on the first day of the 10th lunar month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Adha, the most important Islamic holiday, commemorates the end of Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia every year. Hajj The fifth pillar of Islam. It is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia and every able-bodied, financially capable Muslim must perform Hajj at least once in their lifetime. Halal Permissible by Islamic law. Hijab Modest clothing that many Muslim women choose to wear in public. Generally, it is loose-fitting clothes and includes a head covering. Imam A prayer leader. Kufi A cap worn by some Muslim men. Masjid The Arabic word for ‘mosque’ - an Islamic house of worship. Niqab A face veil. Prayer The second pillar of Islam. Islam mandates structured prayers five times a day. Muslims are also required to attend a weekly congregational prayer on Fridays. During the month of Ramadan, devout Muslims also observe extended evening prayers. Quran Islam’s revealed text. Ramadan The Islamic holy month of fasting and the ninth lunar month of the Islamic calendar. 4 Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) 2005 Executive Summary "True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else."1 -- Clarence Darrow Nearly four years removed from the 9/11 terror attacks, the greatest tragedy to befall our nation in modern history, our country has learned certain lessons that will hopefully lead us to a stronger, safer and more vibrant society for people of all races, faiths and cultures. Since the 9/11 attacks, the most disturbing legal trend is the growing disparity in how American Muslims are being treated under the law on many different levels. In order to fully understand the status of civil rights in the post-9/11 era, it is essential that this report offer a documented historical overview of major federal law enforcement initiatives, high-profile national cases and statistical evidence of anti-Muslim discrimination in CAIR candlelight vigil commemorating 9/11 victims the United States, particularly those incidents that occurred during the last calendar year of 2004. In 2004, CAIR processed a total of 1,522 incident reports of civil rights cases compared to 1,019 cases reported to CAIR in 2003. This constitutes a 49 percent increase in the reported cases of harassment, violence and discriminatory treatment from 2003 and marks the highest number of Muslim civil rights cases ever reported to CAIR in our eleven year history. In addition, CAIR received 141 reports of actual and potential violent anti-Muslim hate crimes, a 52 percent increase from the 93 reports received in 2003. Overall, 10 states alone accounted for almost 79 percent of all reported incidents to CAIR in 2004. These ten states include: California (20.17%), New York (10.11%), Arizona (9.26%), Virginia (7.16%), Texas (6.83%), Florida (6.77%), Ohio (5.32%), Maryland (5.26%), New Jersey (4.53%) and Illinois (2.96%). There have also been decreases, both in real and proportional terms, in certain categories from the previous year as well. For example, workplace discrimination complaints to CAIR constituted nearly 23 percent of complaints in 2003. In 2004, the number of workplace discrimination complaints decreased to almost 18 percent of the total complaints. 1 http://antiwar.com/quotes.php 5 Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) 2005 In addition, complaints involving governmental agencies decreased from 29 percent in 2003 to 19 percent in 2004. Internet harassment of American Muslims also decreased from 7 percent of total complaints in 2003 to less than 1 percent of total reported complaints in 2004. By far the greatest increase from last year, in both real and proportional terms, occurred in the area of unreasonable arrests, detentions, searches/seizures and interrogations. In 2003, complaints concerning law enforcement techniques accounted for only 7 percent of all reported incidents. In 2004, however, these reports rose to almost 26 percent of all reported cases to CAIR. Although not a scientific study, there are several factors which may have contributed to the increase in total number of reports to CAIR over the past year. These include, but are not limited to, the following: CAIR 2004 Civil Rights Press Conference at National Press Club 1. An ongoing and lingering atmosphere of fear since the September 11 attacks against American Muslims, Arabs and South Asians; 2. The growing use of anti-Muslim rhetoric by some local and national opinion leaders; 3. Local Muslim communities, through the opening of new CAIR chapters and regional offices, now have more mechanisms to monitor and report incidents to CAIR at the grassroots level; 4. Following the infamous legacy of the USA PATRIOT Act, other federal legislation and policies which severely infringe on the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans continue to be passed; 5. Increased public awareness about civil liberties and the impact of federal law enforcement initiatives on constitutional and civil rights. In our conclusion, CAIR recommends that further congressional inquiries, inspector general reports from federal agencies and impact litigation continue to be used to ensure that the civil and legal rights of all Americans are never placed in jeopardy again. 6 Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) 2005 Background and Findings In the months directly following 9/11, Attorney General John Ashcroft, using his powers under section 412 of the now infamous USA PATRIOT Act2, rounded up and imprisoned well over 1,2003 Muslim and Arab men based solely on pretextual immigration violations. The most disconcerting fact about these mass round-ups was the fact that the Justice Department refused to